New York, New York – Days 8 & 9

(Yes, again this post is a little late ….)‘Tis now the run down to the end of the conference. Great speakers including Kathryn Erskine, panels on making picture books and also one presented by agents on the current market today and the announcement of an award for middle listers created by Jane Yolen were on the agenda … and then of course, to conclude the Lucky 13 Winter SCBWI Conference was the craziness of the autograph party! This was followed quickly for me by the board meeting.

But we also squeezed in a quick zap to the Top of the Rock at the Rockerfeller Centre … which has the most spectacular views of New York City – especially on such a crystal clear day. The air was clear, the skies were blue and it was a tad chilly. We could have stayed up there for hours!

That’s where we were … up there!

The autograph party concluded the conference. There were quite a few Regional Advisors hanging around so we all shuffled out for dinner to Ruby Foos where the menu was a rather strange mix of Chinese, Thai and Japanese! Not many dishes but the food was quite lovely – pity that my course (dumplings) arrived well after everyone else’s main meal! The manager was very apologetic (goodie bags to go) – and we got that dish for free. And this restaurant had a thing about the lights – it was rather dark. It was a lovely stroll down to Times Square, with the throng of folk there and the crisp winter night. It has been exceptionally mild this year!

… And there in Times Square we did spy this strange creature. It looks like an Imperial Walker from the Star Wars movies when in reality it is a New York Police Department observation tower complete with cameras and flashing lights and, I am sure, much more.

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Pork Fried Rice

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late arriving dumplings

And this is it: the ‘dregs’ as we were loosely termed by someone in the crew on Sunday evening after dinner and after most of the folk had left the conference. There was still much to talk about and reflect upon … and it was nice to sit with a small group of folk too!

Monday found us having a late start, walking through the streets, and me taking a quick trip to East 53rd Street and the offices of HarperCollins where a photo ID is required to enter the building, and then an escort.

Our dinner was at T.G.I.F. We were lazy and didn’t want to walk too far. This is a rather late photo (I had taken two mouthfulls I think) of a cheesy sizzling shrimp and chicken dish. The shrimp should have been returned to the ocean, they were sooooo small.

More on the Carolinas later but Pam Vaughan (official photographer for the New England conference last weekend) has just sent me oodles and poodles of photos … so if you don’t want to see piccies of me in action – then look away now! There are photos of me with friends, of me panelling, photos […]